NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins isn't shy about expressing his opinion, and he had some smoke for Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during a recent episode of the Road Trippin’ podcast.
Perkins is unhappy with the clandestine way Antetokounmpo has approached a potential trade away from the Milwaukee Bucks and thinks that the former NBA MVP should just come out and publicly confirm his desire to be traded, as opposed to letting articles and reports control the narrative.
“Giannis is a coward. Giannis is a coward,” Perkins said. “Let’s just call a spade a spade. … And I say that respectfully, because he don’t want to be there [Milwaukee]. … Instead of him just coming out and saying ‘trade me, trade me, trade me.’ … Publicly come out and say, ‘trade me’ and stand on it. Once it comes out and they ask you the question, say ‘yes, my time is up,’ because I’m tired of it, bro.”
Richard Jefferson pushed back on Perkins, repeatedly stating that Antetokounmpo doesn’t own Perkins, or anyone else, an explanation when it comes to how he handles his career. The opposing opinions lead to a pretty heated back-and-forth.
Kendrick Perkins calls Giannis Antetokounmpo a coward 😳
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) December 12, 2025
“Giannis is a coward, respectfully. Come out and say trade me and stand on it”
(Via @RoadTrippinShow, h/t @HeatCulture13)pic.twitter.com/JqNVp1Q5mi
While Perkins is entitled to his opinion, it’s relatively rare for a player to come out and publicly demand a trade. That typically only occurs if there’s some real ill will between the two sides. In this situation, there appears to be mutual respect between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks organization, so Antetokounmpo probably doesn’t want to put private business out in the streets. Things can get very messy when that happens.
Instead, it appears as though Antetokounmpo would rather handle business behind closed doors, which is understandable. Sure, details of the discussions might get leaked, but that’s the media landscape in 2025. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Antetokounmpo is approaching the situation in a cowardly way.
Antetokounmpo is currently sidelined with a calf injury. In the meantime, he and his agent, Alex Saratsis, are having conversations with the Bucks regarding his future. Does that mean a trade will ultimately come to fruition? We'll have to wait and see.